Monday, 16 May 2011

A recent report, entitled Outlook for Human Resources in the ICT Labour Market, 2011-2016, states that there will be a labour shortage of qualified applicants for IT related jobs in Canada within the next few years. The report was released by the Information and Communications Technology Council (ICTC).

According to the report, over 106,000 IT related positions will become available between 2011 and 2016 in Canada; however there may not be enough people to fill those positions. The report has also indicated that the most shortages will occur for positions which require five or more years of experience.

In order to address the concerns regarding labour shortages, the report is suggesting five recommendations:

Post-secondary students should be encourages to take IT-related courses;

Foreign-education workers should be better integrated into Canada’s IT workforce;

Making post-secondary education more cross-disciplinary; and

Making the IT industry more accessible for various skill levels and diverse employees.

Another important suggestion made by the report is to bring more foreign skilled workers to Canada. The IT industry will be looking for skilled workers with many different skills, rather than a specific technical expertise.

The Government of Canada has not indicated how these shortages will affect their immigration strategies. Canadavisa.com will report on any changes to the Canadian immigration programs once they have been announced.

Anyone applying for Canadian permanent residency or to visit, work, or study in Canada may be prohibited from entering the country if he/she has been charged or convicted of a criminal offence that occurred inside or outside of Canada. Even minor offences may render a person inadmissible to Canada.

Some examples of convictions that could make an applicant inadmissible to Canada include shoplifting, assault, and possession of marijuana or other controlled substances/drugs. Even driving while under the influence (DUI) can lead to an applicant being refused entry to Canada.

That being said, there may be ways of coming to Canada even with past convictions.

A conviction for a single summary offence (misdemeanour) may be ignored for Canadian immigration purposes. If an applicant was convicted of one or more indictable offences (felonies) and more than five years have passed since the completion of any imposed sentences, including probation, that applicant is eligible to submit an application for Criminal Rehabilitation. To submit an application for Criminal Rehabilitation, an applicant must provide proof that he/she has been rehabilitated and is not likely to re-offend.

On May 2, 2011 Canadian citizens will be casting their vote in an election to either re-elect the governing Conservatives, or to elect a new party and Prime Minister. The outcome of this election may have important implications for Canadian immigration.Canada has five major parties running for election. While many parties agree on certain issues, such as the need to improve the efficiency of the immigration system, they each have their own views on what changes need to be made to Canada’s immigration system. The following are some promises made by each party during the election campaign:ConservativesIf re-elected, the Conservatives have promised to:

Get tougher on human smuggling;

Streamline the process for deporting foreign criminals;

Impose a two year conditional Canadian permanent resident status for applicants who are sponsored by a spouse or common-law partner and who have been in that relationship for less than two years; and

Implement the “Once in a Lifetime Act” which would allow Canadians a one-time opportunity to sponsor a relative who is not a member of the family class to come to Canada; and

Ensure tough laws against crooked consultants are enforced.

Green Party
If elected, the Green Party promises to:

Allocate greater funding for language training programs in English and French in Canada;

Establish a program for people living in Canada without official status that will lead to full landed immigrant status;

Improve the integration of newcomers into Canadian society;

Toughen and enforce regulations governing the practice of immigration consultants; and

Amend the Anti-Terrorism Act and the Public Safety Act so that formal charges can be brought against all those detained.

Bloc Québécois
Throughout the election campaign, the Bloc Québécois have been fairly quiet on issues regarding immigration. They recently released a document which proposes several changes to their own immigration programs within the province of Quebec (full story can be found here); however they have not discussed changes they would make to federal immigration policies.The 2011 election is important to potential immigrants and Canadians alike as a new government can mean changes to current immigration policies, but whether all of these promises will actually be kept remains to be seen.Learn more about Canada’s political system here.